‘Never Underestimate Snakes’: Meet This Reptile Catcher Who Runs One of UP’s Oldest Rescue Helplines

The turning point in 34-year-old Murli Dhar Yadav’s life came when he rescued a small non-venomous snake from his neighbour’s house with the help of tongs in 2000: he was only 11 years old then but he had found his calling. He wanted to rescue snakes and, over the years, gained expertise in catching these reptiles – venomous as well as non-venomous.

But, then came another turning point: he was bitten by a spectacled cobra during a rescue effort. This incident taught him never to underestimate these reptiles, which he thinks are one of the most beautiful creatures on planet Earth. He started his journey trying to save human lives but ended up changing his whole approach towards snakes.

Hailing from Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh, Yadav happens to run one of the state’s oldest snake rescue helplines. Often called ‘saviour’ by local residents, he is an avid wildlife enthusiast who has rescued more than 8,000 snakes in the last 23 years and, in doing so, has saved numerous human lives.

Also a social media influencer, Yadav has more than 85 lakh subscribers on his YouTube channel ‘Murliwale Hausla’, 46 lakh followers on Facebook and 3.5 lakh on Instagram.

Yadav says handling snakes is not child’s play as even a slight mistake can be a threat to life. But, unlike others who tread traditional career paths to become engineers or doctors, Yadav chose to be a snake rescuer. He says the answer to this lies in his childhood days.

“Snakes are in abundance in Jaunpur and so are cases of snake bites. I have grown up hearing about snake bites and deaths caused by snake bites. Hence, I decided to do something to combat it,” says Yadav.

He says when he was 11 years old, he helped rescue a non-venomous snake from his neighbour’s house, and it was a deciding factor in how he became a snake catcher. “One fine day, my neighbour came running into my house seeking our help as she had spotted a snake in her verandah. I rushed to her place, caught it at once with the help of tongs and released it into an agricultural field,” Yadav says.

Years went by and he became an expert at catching snakes but then something happened that completely changed his worldview. He suffered a bite from a spectacled cobra. “That was the worst experience of my life. The incident took place at a neighbouring village, where I went to catch a snake. It was a spectacled cobra and we took almost two hours to catch it. But, when I was trying to put it in a box, it bit me on the hand. I was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where they saved my life. But, it taught me a valuable lesson for life – never underestimate a snake as it can strike back with lightning speed and neutralise its enemy in no time,” says Yadav, who then underwent professional training to rescue snakes.

Talking about his need to build a large social media network, Yadav says he initially began this work with the idea of saving human lives. “But, I gradually realised that snakes are one of the most beautiful creatures on Earth and this changed my approach towards snakes. I also found that there are a lot of myths among people as a majority of them cannot differentiate between venomous and non-venomous snakes. Also, there is a lot of superstition related to treatment of snake bites. But for me, it was next to impossible to clear these myths and to raise awareness among people; so, I decided to use social media as a tool,” he says.

He adds: “Not only did it act as a tool to bust snake-related myths but it also worked as a medium to generate funds to meet my expenses. So far, in the last 23 years, I have rescued more than 8,000 snakes not only in Jaunpur but in neighbouring districts, states and other regions, including Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan among others.”

Yadav’s wife and his parents, too, strongly believe that doing good deeds is the best way to serve society. “They are a little scared about my work. But they also believe that good deeds never go to waste and are the best way to serve humanity. My 10-year-old kid also wants to become a snake rescuer,” he adds.